More Information

Fact box

Page 1 of 1

Greenwich dancer performs in New York ballet's `Nutcracker'

For Grayson Kelley, the whirlwind schedule of performances from Nov. 23 to Dec. 30 affords her a spectacular chance many times over. As a second-year student at the School of American Ballet, the affiliated school of New York City Ballet, Grayson's role in this year's "Nutcracker" -- her first in this production -- is one of the apple-cheeked soldiers that fight off the fierce and comical Mouse King in the battle scene at the end of Act I. She hopes this is the first of many "Nutcracker" performances, in which she can dance a variety of roles.

"I want to be a Polichinelle," Grayson said, referring to the little dolls that pop out from Mother Ginger's skirt in Act II. "And when I get older, I would like to dance Marzipan, Arabian and the Sugarplum Fairy."

On show days, which can vary week to week according to her casting schedule, Grayson and her mom, Jennifer Kelley, arrive about an hour before the curtain rises; Grayson will sometimes change in the car, do schoolwork or eat dinner during the ride into the city.

"It gets done," Jennifer Kelley said. "She still keeps up with her schoolwork."

The children's dressing room is deep within the rabbit warren of white cinder block hallways that run beneath the Koch theater, filled with folding tables where small dancers and their parents pile mounds of ballet bags, shoes and hair supplies, snacking on fruit, sandwiches and leftovers. When the curtain rises at the start of the performance, a wide television screen affords the kids a view of the action onstage; wandering through the hallways, the faint, tinny sounds of the orchestra manage to filter through.

"It's fun. They make a lot of buddies back here," Kelley said. "At the school, everyone pretty much disperses after class, but here they get to hang out and get a chance to make stronger friendships."

As Kelley shellacked the stray "wispies" of her daughter's hair down with hairspray, another parent leaned over the table to inform her that "cheeks" had just been called. Grayson and her fellow soldiers scampered down the hallway to wait outside the wardrobe room, where two older student supervisors painted round red cheeks on the children's faces with tiny brushes and careful strokes.

Lindsay Skolan, 21, and Gabrielle Estep, 17, are both charged with monitoring the children backstage for the duration of the show, making sure they meet their cues on time, ushering them into the wardrobe room when it's time to dress. Managing large groups of these kids is easier than you'd expect, Skolan said, largely because many of the ballet-trained students are so well-schooled in discipline.

"I respect them, so I never yell at them," Skolan, who studies educational theater at New York University, said. "I just use my classroom management skills. I love it, I love working with young people. The fact that these kids come and do all these performances is kind of amazing."

Estep, an older student at SAB, is a "Nutcracker" veteran herself, having danced a different version of the ballet for eight years in her native Saratoga, N.Y.

"As it always is, the boys are usually ready before the girls," Estep said, as a crowd of boy soldiers hurried down the hall, already in costume.

The "Nutcracker" soldiers are a good mix of boys and girls, a departure from the original production in 1954, when only two boys were available and both played the plum role of the Nutcracker Prince.

George Balanchine, choreographer and founder of the New York City Ballet company, drew on his memories of dancing the "Nutcracker" in his native Russia when he created his own iteration of the ballet, the version that's still danced by the company today. There are almost as many "Nutcrackers" as there are ballet schools in the country, but for many of those who have danced Balanchine's ballet, this is the definitive one.

Kelley knows this well; in her teens, she performed the same choreography in a now-defunct Stamford production of Balanchine's Nutcracker. She remembers the buzz of anticipation waiting in the wings, the thrill of finding a famous dancer's name in the back of her old costume. Seeing Grayson perform onstage with a glittering roster of professionals gives Kelley a sense of coming full circle, she said, watching her daughter enter a world she knows so well.

"It's great because of my past, but it's especially precious because it's my daughter," Kelley said, adding that she welled up with tears on opening night. "I feel like this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Even if it's crazy at times, I wouldn't change it. As long as this is what she wants to do, we made a commitment to the school and to the show. She's having a wonderful experience."

Preparing for the show, Grayson showed no signs of stage fright or nerves, showing the same kind of focus that Kelley said her teachers have reported in class.

"I like to perform on stage in front of a lot of people," she said. "I like to learn new ballet steps in class. It's fun and I like to express myself."

When the call came for the soldiers to go onstage, a crowd of children in bright yellow and blue uniforms poured out of the wardrobe room, fully costumed. As Grayson passed by, her mother offered her a kiss and a high five, saying "Good luck." Then, Grayson followed her peers into an a packed elevator, about to ascend through the theater to the wings of the stage.

Olivia Just, staff writer

Greenwich priest steps up to comfort Newtown `family'

During the six years he was a priest at St. Rose of Lima Roman Catholic Church, one of the Rev. John Inserra's greatest joys was interacting with the children in the church's preschool, opening the doors for the kids, greeting them in the morning, and visiting with them to sing songs.

There has been no joy in Inserra's return to Newtown from St. Mary Parish in Greenwich, where he was transferred in 2009.

Eight of the 20 children killed in the Dec. 14 massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School came from families that belong to the church. Over the last week, Inserra has made the 50-mile trip back to Newtown to attend the eight funerals and grieve with the families of the victims, as well as the other parishioners who have been struggling to cope with the tragedy during what should be a festive time of year.

"I feel like I had to do it because it's a close-knit community," said Inserra, 50, whose first assignment was at St. Rose of Lima. "I feel like it's my family."

Inserra also planned to spend Christmas in Newtown, making himself available to parents who need his support.

Inserra, who grew up in New Rochelle, N.Y., and received the calling to become a priest after working for years in information technology, said it has been difficult for him to deal with the overwhelming sadness. What has helped him through it is seeing the strength of the victims' parents, especially the ones who have delivered eulogies.

"She said it was her son who gave her strength and the healing spirit," Inserra said of one grieving mother who spoke at her son's funeral.

Monsignor Robert Weiss, who has presided over funeral services at St. Rose of Lima, said the same thing during a recent interview.

"When they conclude, people stand and applaud," Weiss said of the parents who have recounted the short lives of their slain children.

In the midst of such sorrow, Inserra also had his Christmas duties back home in Greenwich. He didn't have much time, and wasn't in the right mood, to prepare for the 5:30 p.m. Christmas Eve Mass in the Greenwich Avenue church, which was filled with fiery poinsettias.

Instead of remarking on the tragedy, Inserra read a fictional story about a gas station owner named George, who had stopped celebrating Christmas after his wife's death. On Christmas Day, George helps a number of strangers, including a homeless man who turns out to be Jesus Christ. Jesus says that even without officially marking the holiday, George understands the true spirit of Christmas, and lives it each day.

The tragedy at Sandy Hook has certainly dimmed the lights on holiday celebrations. "I'm sure it's changed everyone in Newtown, where their Christmas or Hanukkah will never be the same," Inserra said.

The loss of such young children may also cause some people to question their faith in God. Even Inserra, whose father died last year, has had a hard time grappling with the issue, but takes comfort in a simple statement.

"Jesus never promised us eternal life here on Earth," Inserra said.

Inserra admits these are not always very comforting words, especially when a loss is still fresh. He hopes it might help a little as the people of Newtown try to heal.

"It will bounce back," Inserra said of the community. "It's still one of the best places to live in the country."

Lisa Chamoff,

staff writer

Connecticut has thriving gun culture

Tucked in a far corner of a Torrington Walmart, the store's firearms section was buzzing on a recent afternoon. Crowded around a small, half-moon-shaped counter, two men filled out the lengthy applications for first-time firearms purchases.

Nearby, another couple perused glass cases bristling with long guns.

Farmington resident Greg Sieklicki, 26, was there to pick up ammunition for his neighbor, a Christmas gift for the first-time shotgun owner. A gun enthusiast himself, Sieklicki said Walmart is his go-to place for firearms and accoutrements.

"Just like everything else here, it's cheaper," he said.

Despite the recent murders of 20 students and seven adults in Newtown, Connecticut's gun culture seems, on the surface at least, robust and unbowed.

"Guns are a big part of the culture," said New Haven resident Adam Palmer shortly after he visited a shooting range near Ansonia. "Connecticut has a pretty broad base of people who like to shoot."

Figures obtained by Hearst Connecticut Newspapers showed that gun sales surged in the week following Adam Lanza's shooting rampage at Sandy Hook Elementary School. On Dec. 20, six days after the shooting, for example, retailers sold 1,220 guns. That's up from 431 on the same date in 2011. Similar increases were seen for almost every day in the week after the shooting, according to the state Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection.

At the Dick's Sporting Goods in the Danbury Fair mall, the run on ammunition was so great management limited the number of rounds customers could buy for all calibers. There were no firearms on the shelves, but that was because they'd been removed in deference to the shooting victims, a store employee said.

New Milford resident Dawn Curry, 39, and her husband were recently at a gun show where a pink .22-caliber rifle caught their 6-year-old daughter's eye.

"She hasn't used it yet," said Curry, who had just visited the Newtown memorials off Church Hill Road in Sandy Hook. "When she does, it will only be with Daddy."

Curry's husband, a hunter, owns six guns. She defended his right to bear arms, citing the classic argument that "guns don't kill people, people do."

The only thing that needs to change, she said, is teaching people to better store their weapons.

"If you came to my house, you wouldn't even know we have guns," she said. "Lock 'em up."

Still, she said, the Sandy Hook tragedy has left her with some "mixed emotions."

Palmer, who is also the founder of the Connecticut branch of the American Preppers Network, an association for people preparing for natural and manmade calamities, said tighter gun laws are symbolic and ineffective solutions to preventing mass shootings.

"The issue shouldn't be over magazine capacity," he said. "What are we doing to assure that our youth are equipped with what they need mentally?"

The Newtown killings seem to have only modestly changed the nation's attitudes about gun control, according to a Pew Research Center survey analysis.

The survey, conducted Dec. 17 to 19, found that 49 percent of Americans say it is more important to control gun ownership, while 42 percent say it is more important to protect the right of Americans to own guns.

Opinion was evenly divided in July, following another mass shooting in Aurora, Colo., that killed 12 and injured 59.

While 67 percent of Americans oppose a handgun ban, more than half of Americans favor banning bullets designed to explode or penetrate bullet-proof vests and high-capacity ammunition clips, the analysis found. Only 44 percent favor banning semiautomatic guns; 49 percent are opposed.

While the NRA said Sunday it would continue to oppose all restrictions on assault weapons and other firearms, Ron Pinciaro vowed in response that his Connecticut Against Gun Violence will step up its efforts.

"It's no surprise what the NRA is saying," said Pinciaro, a Bridgeport resident. "They want to totally flood the market with guns, so many guns that the only way you can protect yourself is by arming yourself."

Pinciaro said his group is supporting Connecticut legislative efforts to ban assault rifles, high-capacity magazines and Internet sales of guns and bullets. The proposal also seeks a 50 percent tax on ammunition sales.

"This will be the most comprehensive gun legislation ever proposed in Connecticut and possibly the nation," he said.

Local gun enthusiasts appear to be keeping a low profile in light of heightened public outrage over the type of high-powered weaponry Lanza's mother, Nancy Lanza, was able to purchase and keep in her Newtown home.

Employees at shooting ranges throughout southwestern Connecticut refused to comment on what this public reaction might mean for gun hobbyists. The Bridgeport Shooting Range provided only a written statement offering condolences to all who were affected by the Newtown shootings, but added that it is range policy "to refrain from releasing any business related information to the public."

A baker's dozen customers leaving the range refused to speak to a reporter about their hobby. One laughed and said, "I probably shouldn't. I work in aviation and it wouldn't be a good idea."

And a visitor to the white, Colonial-style headquarters of the National Shooting Sports Foundation in Newtown was firmly shooed away by an on-site security guard. A spokesman for the firearms trade association later returned a call to say the group would not be doing interviews "for the next few weeks."

Anger over gun violence spilled from the pulpit at least twice during services for Sandy Hill victims.

Mourners applauded the Rev. Kathleen Adams-Shepherd during Thursday's funeral for Benjamin Wheeler, 6, when she said the murders were carried out by an "enraged, sick young man with access to weapons that should never, ever be in a home."

And during Saturday's funeral for Josephine Gay, 7, Monsignor Robert Weiss, of St. Rose of Lima Catholic Church in Newtown, urged mourners to "get angry" about the mass shooting, wondering aloud whether government should abolish private gun ownership.

"Do we get rid of our guns?" he asked. "Is that the answer? There needs to be change. If these 20 children can't change this world, then no one ever will."

Indeed, the desire to help make the Sandy Hook tragedy a "tipping point" toward such a change is the driving force behind several grass-roots efforts in town.

A group calling itself Newtown United has met several times to vent, console one another, and begin to look to what they hope their shock and anger can achieve.

"Sandy Hook should be the high-water mark for gun violence in this country," said Rob Cox, a local writer and founding member of the group. "After this, we want to see the floodwaters begin to recede."

Cox says the group hopes many of the Sandy Hook families will want to get involved once their initial mourning period is over. But for now, he lists a change in America's gun laws, treatment of the mentally ill and support for beleaguered parents as three potential priorities.

The group's Facebook page has more than 17,000 likes, and organizers are working on getting nonprofit status and raising seed money to for their activities.

"Whatever we do, though, it will not represent any sort of threat to responsible gun owners," he said.

On another front, John Neuhoff and his 13-year-old daughter Mia have separately launched a petition on the White House's We The People website calling for the town to pass an ordinance modeled in accordance with "the anticipated Federal Assault Weapons Ban." It can be found at wh.gov/nt6s.

"We know the effort is more symbolic than real," said Neuhoff, a retired radio station owner. "But you have to start somewhere."